The Place of Philosophy in the Training of Teachers: Peters revisited

Abstract

In 1964, Richard Peters examined the place of philosophy in the training of teachers. He considered three things: Why should philosophy of education be included in the training of teachers; What portion of philosophy of education should be included; How should philosophy be taught to those training to be teachers. This article explores the context of the time when Peters set out his views, describes philosophy of education at the London Institute of Education at one period in Peters’ time there, and then discusses the current state of philosophy of education, using New Zealand as an example of opportunities and challenges. Finally, asking whether Peters was nearly right about the place of philosophy in the training of teachers, it is concluded that he was right about its importance but got it wrong about his conception of philosophy.     

The privatisation of public schooling in New Zealand

This paper examines recent privatisation practices in New Zealand public schooling. The standard political rhetoric is that free publicly provided schooling is guaranteed by statute. This position may be challenged by reference to two apparently insignificant practical examples of the way in which policy gives effect to privatisation in public schooling: (1) the commissioning of national assessment strategy policy advice, and (2) the award of contestable funding for the provision of support services to schools. It is argued that such practices advance neoliberal theories of schooling at the expense of the previous social democratic liberal settlement. The paper considers some possible consequences of increased privatisation of policy advice and service provision for understandings of and commitments to public schooling.     

Entry to the Skilled Trades in Australia: the role of family background and school achievement

This paper reports an analysis of factors associated with entry to skilled trades through the Australian apprenticeship system. It is based on data collected from a sample of nearly 2500 17‐year‐old males in 1978. The results suggest that:

(a) young males whose fathers were tradesmen were more likely to participate in apprenticeship training than other young males;

(b) apprentices had relatively higher achievement on numerical tests than on verbal tests;

(c) the sons of migrants from non‐English speaking countries were less involved in apprenticeship than other 17‐year‐old males; and

(d) young males who had attended private secondary schools were less likely to be involved in apprenticeship training than those who had attended public schools.

It was found that whether a person's father was a tradesman was a better predictor of participation in apprenticeship than the social prestige of the father's occupation.     

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND CAREER RETRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS

Recent research on the cognitive development and functioning of older adults is reviewed and explored in relation to vocational retraining. It is argued that an ecological approach to the study of cognitive development in older adults is preferable, based on the life‐phase, hierarchical‐stage and cognitive functioning literatures. The relevance of this literature for career development in older adults is considered and suggestions for future research are offered. In particular, it is proposed that retraining programs designed to facilitate the career adaptability and success of older persons should attempt to increase their cognitive complexity and flexibility.     

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT IN TEXAS TWO-YEAR COLLEGES

To discover the organizational components that nurture good teaching in Texas two-year colleges, I undertook the task of replicating a study of Ohio two-year colleges. A review of the literature uncovered several variables for assessing faculty development. The most important of these appears to be an institutional climate that encourages faculty development. To assess faculty development, a 65-item survey was sent to all Texas two-year colleges. Although the results of the Texas study are more encouraging than those of the Ohio study, Texas community colleges could be doing more to support faculty development.     

Comparisons of Four Methods for Estimating a Dynamic Factor Model

Four methods for estimating a dynamic factor model, the direct autoregressive factor score (DAFS) model, are evaluated and compared. The first method estimates the DAFS model using a Kalman filter algorithm based on its state space model representation. The second one employs the maximum likelihood estimation method based on the construction of a block-Toeplitz covariance matrix in the structural equation modeling framework. The third method is built in the Bayesian framework and implemented using Gibbs sampling. The fourth is the least squares method, which also employs the block-Toeplitz matrix. All 4 methods are implemented in currently available software. The simulation study shows that all 4 methods reach appropriate parameter estimates with comparable precision. Differences among the 4 estimation methods and related software are discussed.     

Choice of Reading Comprehension Test Influences the Outcomes of Genetic Analyses

Vowel representations are particularly difficult for children to learn because most vowel phonemes can be spelled in several different ways. Children in Grades 1, 2, and 3 spelled nonwords with an ambiguous vowel and reported their spelling strategies. Analysis of the children's spellings and strategy reports revealed a shift in relying solely on phonological information to considering orthographic information for making vowel letter choices. Implications for vowel spelling development are discussed.     

The Use of the Internet in Science Teaching: A longitudinal study of developments in use by student‐teachers in England

This paper reports on a longitudinal study of developments in use of the Internet by science student‐teachers on Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) courses in five higher education institution–school partnerships in England. These are 1‐year, full‐time, teacher training courses for graduate scientists. The aim of the research was to examine changes in attitudes to, and use of, the Internet to support science teaching and the perceived challenges and barriers to practice in schools, against a background of high national expectations reflected in the qualification standards of the teacher education courses. The research has involved nearly 600 student‐teachers, representing between 7% and 8% of those training on PGCE science courses in England, and has employed mixed methods, with questionnaires serving as the main basis for analysing trends, and focus groups and case studies used to gain deeper insight to the particular issues identified. The process has been an iterative one, with the outcomes of each year’s research being used to inform further research and course developments in the institutions involved. The findings indicate that attitudes and confidence in use of the Internet have improved over the period, with evidence of increased application directly in the classroom. However, in addition to some of the generic technological issues that may hinder developments in the use of Information and Communication Technology in schools, there are continuing concerns relating to limited pedagogical guidance and availability of good role models. The implications of this for developments in science teacher education programmes are discussed.     

Conceptual change with refutational maps

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how studying a refutational map, a type of argument map, affected conceptual change. Refutational maps visually display both correct and alternative conceptions. Participants (N?=?120) were randomly assigned to (1) a refutational map condition, (2) a refutational text condition, and (3) a non-refutational text condition. The post-test results showed that studying the refutational map led to better performance on free recall and learning transfer measures. Specifically, participants who studied the refutational map performed significantly better than others on a free recall test, and they significantly outperformed the non-refutational text group on a short-answer transfer test. The multiple-choice test, another transfer measure, failed to detect any differences among the three groups. The research also found that individual differences in need for cognition and logical thinking ability interacted with the type of study materials. Participants scoring lower on logical thinking ability gained more from studying the refutational map.     

LEARNING AND DOING: THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE-LEARNING IN GERONTOLOGY

Service-learning is an approach to teaching and learning that has great potential for gerontology. The articles in this special issue present a wealth of conceptual and practical information about how to create service-learning opportunities, manage them effectively, and evaluate them appropriately. This article identifies several common themes in the articles and offers an administrative perspective on the role and value of service-learning.